Spam is an unfortunate reality when it comes to blogging. For every legitimate comment received, it’s not unusual for upwards of 50 spam to accompany it. Lately though it seems to be out of control.

Logging into my blog on this sunny Chinese New Year morning, I was welcomed by a new personal record of 287 spam messages over a period of around 12 hours. Advertising everything from coffee machines to no less than a dozen sex related drugs.

What a pain!

I still wonder if anyone actually buys anything as a result of these kinds of efforts.

There are all manner of blogs. Some promoting a business, with successful advertising some blogs are businesses, and some are simply thoughts poured out onto pages.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone had started a blog with all the enthusiasm in the world, only for it to fade away in the proceeding weeks or months. Without somewhat regular new posts a blog is of little use, and regular posts require dedication. So where do you find the energy?

I was asked the other day how I manage to keep myself going, and the answer is simple. I enjoy it.

My father often said to me, If you do something you love, you never work a day in your life, and it couldn’t be more true. Even if my blog never brought me a cent, I think I’d still find it fulfilling to see it grow.

What is your blog?

Just another day at work, or a profitable past time?

So you web design is finished, you’ve got pages and pages of quality, with traffic and blog comments galore. If your anything like me, all that’s left to do now is obsess over every infinitesimal detail imaginable to improve your perfectly fine website.

If that sounds like you, you’ll probably be interested in minifying ( See, now the picture of the Morris Mini makes sense… ) your css/code.

The purpose of minifying your site is cut down unnecessary bandwidth usage/load times. The reduction in file size is usually around 20% – 40% which for a 10kb style sheet obviously isn’t a lot, but hey, every bit counts, especially for high traffic sites. Continue reading...

With the boom of social networking over the last few years gone there’s a lot more traffic to be squeezed out of your website beyond just having good search engine optimization.

Social network and bookmarking sites such as Twitter, StumbleUpon and Digg have the potential to bring in huge traffic. And while every site can be found through search engines not every one is using these tools, giving you a potential leg up on the competition.

The only downside is social networking requires regular work, and getting to the front page of Digg etc. for a huge boost in exposure requires a little luck. There’s a lot of competition on social bookmarking sites and writing a fantastic article doesn’t guarantee it won’t slip through the cracks.

If you are fortunate enough to have an article land on the front page however, the results are undeniable. It wouldn’t be the first time a web hosting server has been brought down by the huge traffic burst of an article featured on Digg.

Search engines are somewhat the opposite.

Continue reading...

It’s been a few months since I began blogging, and while I’m now getting regular quality comments, for every 1 there are 20+ spam. Most of them are either blatant adverting or jibberish, but occasionally you get a gem like these.

Kamikaze pilots have large helmets.

Wouldn’t want to bump your head as you fly a plane loaded with explosives into a battle ship.

I’m in oil!

Oh no!

Win the girl of your dreams, grow your tomatoes.

So tomatoes are the key to a womans heart, so much for chocolate and flowers.

Very insightful.
I especially like the tone.
All blogs should do this.
Great example you are setting here.
Really, I mean that sincerely.
All the best, from your friend.

Why do I get the feeling some subliminal messaging is at work here… Continue reading...